An Experiment

Everyone has their own fashion rules, don't they. Some of mine include not wearing something tight on the top and bottom (so skinny jeans must be balanced with a floaty top, and tighter tops must only be worn with things like baggy jeans or A-line skirts) and always going by fit, not by what the label inside says (I have clothes in my wardrobe from a size 8 to a size 18, and they all fit).

Well, until this week, I had another rule. Light-coloured dresses were for summer wear only, because I had the idea that they'd look weird with opaque tights. Then, earlier this week, I was at the Tube station when I saw a girl wearing a dress that I also own. If you have a look at my post from June 1st, it's the cream version of the black dress pictured there. And this girl was wearing 'my' dress with black tights, boots and a grey cardie. She looked fab. So I thought I'd give it a go! I'm wearing my dress with black ballet pumps, black tights and a long grey cardie with three-quarter sleeves. And it doesn't look weird!

Some catch-up photos

From the top! Firstly we have the outfit I wore to my London birthday drinks last night (I'm like the Queen, I always have two birthdays if possible!) which was exclusively from Primark. I've had the t-shirt for ages but the skirt is new. Then there's the dress I bought from - shock horror - Topshop. It's been years since I've found something I like in Topshop - usually the place makes me feel old and I spend most of my time in there saying things like '£50? For Topshop jeans? They were £20 when I used to buy my jeans from here!' - so finding this dress was a very pleasant surprise. It's not actually by Topshop, which might explain things - it's by Reko. It's very cute and I think it'll work equally well with a cardie and opaque tights for winter, or on its own in the summer. And then in the third picture, we have the dress I got for my birthday. It's from New Look, it has lovely little flowers on it, and the sleeves are all fab and puffy. Finally, the last photo is of my ultra-comfy yet quite funky and stylish New Look sweater dress. It's a lot more flattering than it looks, and it's REALLY warm. Too warm to wear at the moment, really (although I did the other day, because you have to wear new things as soon as you get them) but I have a feeling it's going to be amazing for the winter.

I have neglected this blog for far too long!

Apologies for not posting in weeks and weeks and weeks! I went on holiday (had a lovely time, thank you) and then after that quite a lot of my time was taken up with training for the Royal Parks Half Marathon (2:36...yes I know it's slow but it's fast for me!) so my wardrobe in September consisted mainly of trainers and really unflattering Lycra running gear.

But I really do need to give myself a good kick up the backside and get this blog up and running again, so here I am!

I may as well start with a confession...since I last posted I have bought two skirts and two dresses (I think...there may be more...) and I got another dress for my birthday. Oh dear. It's that change-of-season thing - all of a sudden I'm thinking things like 'Oh no! It's chilly and I don't have any dresses that go with black tights!' which is a complete lie, as earlier blog posts have proven. So here we go again - I'll be making a concerted effort to wear the things I already have instead of buying more.

Join me!

Summer Survival

I have a confession to make. I haven't been posting recently because I've felt a bit guilty...my current favourite dresses are new ones! Oh well!

Anyway, I was thinking this morning about the fact that having a nice collection of dresses is all very well, but one also needs to make sure that one looks nice in one's dresses! Especially during the summer, when we can't hide behind cardies and opaque tights. Yes, I know we haven't had much of a summer thus far (apart from those ridiculously hot days a few weeks ago) but this year I've discovered a few truly magical summer survival products, which I thought I'd tell you about.

1. St Tropez Everyday gradual tanning moisturiser
This stuff is amazing. Legs look better with a bit of a tan. It hides the cellulite and makes everything look much more toned and lovely. But, given the fact that I am ridiculously pale and my legs had barely seen any sun at all, I clung on to my black tights for ages, worried about how my milk-bottle pins would look in my summery frocks. Then a friend told me about the St Tropez gradual tanner, and I thought I'd give it a go. I'd tried other tanning moisturisers, but they'd always made me look orange, or they'd gone streaky, or they had that horrible stale biscuit smell. But the St Tropez stuff is brilliant. It gives a very subtle hint of a tan, it's really easy to use, and you don't smell like mouldy digestives.

2. Soap and Glory Slim Wear firming cream
I love Soap and Glory - their packaging is fab and their products are affordable. And they actually work. I bought some of this on a whim after seeing it on special offer - I've been using it for about two weeks, and while I'm not sure it's getting rid of my cellulite, my thighs definitely feel firmer and the skin feels lovely and toned. It has a tingly minty feel on your skin, too, so it's perfect for moisturising with on warm days!

3. Ambre Solaire Light & Silky sun cream
As previously mentioned, I am ridiculously pale, and my skin is also extremely sensitive to the sun. I once ended up looking like a lobster after a 10-minute walk down Taunton high street in spring sunshine. So sun cream is absolutely vital for me - as it should be for everyone, of course! But because I have to wear high-factor sun cream every day if it's sunny, I'm always on the lookout for a sun cream that isn't sticky and gloopy. So when I saw Ambre Solaire's Light & Silky stuff being advertised, I thought I'd give it a go, but I wasn't expecting much. I was wrong! It really is just like a moisturiser. It sinks beautifully into the skin and it isn't sticky at all. Absolute miracle product.

Wardrobe Clearout

Yesterday, I tackled my wardrobes. I'd been meaning to do it for ages - the last time I'd had a clearout was when I moved into my current flat last October. Bizarrely, I start feeling jittery and anxious if I feel like my flat is untidy or that things need sorting out, so having a good old sort-out really is a cathartic process.

I ended up with two bin bags full of stuff to go to the charity shop! Shamefully, my cupboards don't seem to be particularly empty even after such a major cull. But I feel more in control of my clothes now!

Er...we have a slight problem

You know the whole not buying dresses thing? That's working out just fine...the problem is that the shops are now also full of gorgeous high-waisted skirts. High-waisted skirts suit me down to the ground - they show off my waist, but hide my hips and stomach. Excellent! So in the past few weeks, I have bought:




From top: H&M, £5; Peacocks, £7; Primark, £9 (yes, the Primark skirt was the most expensive!) This is IT, though, I promise! I have a shameful amount of stuff in my wardrobe and I really, really will be making a huge effort to wear and love the things I have instead of buying new things!

I have a confession...

Yes, I bought dresses. Whoops! I have to say, though, that I do think they were entirely justifiable purchases!

As the temperatures soared to gorgeous summery heights over the last week or so, I realised something. About 95% of my dresses are far, far too short to wear without my favourite thick black tights. About 90% of my dresses are far, far too short to wear without at least a hint of a tan on my legs. Sadly, my legs are milk bottle white, and it's too hot for tights, so something drastic had to be done. And that's how I ended up with four new dresses. Yes, four - I'm a firm believer in 'if you like something, buy two', so I have the top dress in both black and cream, and the bottom dress in black and that lovely turquoise.

The good news is that I can now safely go outside without offending the general public!

Weekend Dresses

Without me in them, I'm afraid!

On Saturday I went to a friend's birthday party, and I wore a summery dress from Primark:




I don't usually wear that colour blue, but I really like it! I have to confess that this is a new dress, and not one from my collection...I couldn't help it!

Then on Sunday, we had gorgeous summery weather, which I thought was perfect for a dress that is from my collection of old favourites. Primark again! I wear this loads all year round, but it's really made for summer, when you can wear it without a cardie and the cute shirt-dress shape really comes into its own:

Apologies for the lack of updates!

Sometimes a little thing called Life gets in the way! I've been ridiculously busy just lately, and have therefore been relying on favourite old outfits, which either don't involve dresses or which you've already seen. I will be back soon, though!

In the meantime I'm following a new blog - the amazing Joy the Baker. I love baking (my latest thing is fairy cakes with icing inspired by Jamie Oliver's smooshed-up-fruit glacé icing) and there are some truly incredible things on Joy's blog! It's not exclusively baking - there are savoury treats too - but her cakes are things of beauty. Yum.

The Primark Dress

Dress: Primark
Tights: Guess where? That's right, M&S!

This is a truly horrific photo of me, but it was the best I could do on my way out of the door this morning! I finally wore my slightly 1940s-esque floral Primark dress (the one I was going to wear about a month ago when my plans were thwarted by the gas man) and managed to get a photo of myself wearing it. Hoorah!

Tuesday's dress

Dress: Primark
Tights: M&S

Here's the dress I wore yesterday - it's dark brown, with cream polkadots. Another Primark find! I love this dress, but it does cling a bit even if I wear the magic slip underneath. I have a real hang-up about my stomach, which sticks out a bit, and because of the clingy fabric I do feel a bit like people might start offering me their seats on the Tube when I wear this dress. But I love it so much that I occasionally throw caution to the wind, suck my tummy in and wear it anyway!

Wednesday's dress

Dress: Primark

Tights: M&S

Shoes: Clarks

I'm doing things backwards - I haven't uploaded a photo of the dress I wore yesterday, but I had a photo of today's dress anyway, so I thought I'd do today's first. Today's dress is one I bought a couple of months ago, but it's the first time I've worn it. I really like it - my arms feel a bit exposed, because they've been covered up all winter, but I think it's quite a flattering dress and it doesn't do anything weird - it doesn't ride up or twist round or fall victim to any of the other annoying habits that dresses can have! The top part has little pink roses on it.

Slippery character...

I've been a bit busy lately, so apologies for the lack of dress action! I am wearing a dress today, so a photo will follow later.

But in the meantime, I thought I'd talk about the wonder that is the humble slip. Yes, the sort of thing you might imagine someone's granny wearing. Before I bought mine (M&S, black, and reversible so that you can either have a plain V front or a lacy front) I had all sorts of problems wearing dresses with tights - if the dress wasn't lined (or sometimes even if it was) it would stick to my tights and ride up and generally look unattractive. But wearing the slip underneath stops all of that, and it gives an extra layer which is useful in winter and for wearing short-sleeved dresses in spring when the weather's not quite as warm as you think it ought to be. It's also an instant solution for low-cut dresses. In fact, it was the fact that I now have a slip that inspired me to wear the dress I have on today, which is a brown polkadot tea dress in that sort of jersey fabric that has a tendency to cling. Clinging is not good in my book (it shows up the lumps and bumps) but chucking a slip on underneath means that the dress keeps its shape and doesn't grab onto my tights and cling to my hips and stomach. I also don't have to keep pulling my dress down as I'm walking along, which was another problem with this particular dress.

So there you have it - everyone should go out and buy a slip!

Sunday party dress

Dress: Primark
Tights: M&S
Shoes: Clarks
Necklace: Lucy Lockett Loves

I had a book launch to go to on Sunday evening, with a 'smart casual' dress code - I hate it when invitations say 'smart casual'! What does it mean? So I went with this - one of my current favourite dresses. The tights are actually navy blue, although that doesn't show up in the photo, and I had planned to get a navy blue belt to tie the whole thing together (and stop it looking like I'd just grabbed the wrong pair of tights) but typically I couldn't find a nice navy blue belt anywhere, so I went beltless and gave a nod to the navy blue with my gorgeous Alice in Wonderland necklace instead.

A Saturday dress

Dress: Warehouse
Tights: M&S

I got this dress a couple of years ago in the Warehouse sale. I still really like it, but it's sort of gone out of fashion a bit now and that's why I stopped wearing it. It's lovely for a lazy Saturday doing nothing, though!

Friday's dress...

Dress: Primark
Tights: M&S
Shoes: Shelly's

This is one of my favourite outfits at the moment! I love the dress - it fits so nicely and it's very forgiving! And the colour is one of my favourite colours (as you can probably tell from that bit of curtain you can see in the photo). You can just about see my leopard-print flat shoes, too - I got them ages ago and they're incredibly comfortable and go with all sorts of things! I'm currently on the lookout for a similar pair to replace them when they finally give up the ghost...

Thursday's dress...

Dress: New Look
Cardie: Dorothy Perkins
Tights: M&S

For some strange reason, even though it has sequins and it's mainly black, I end up feeling like a bit of a scruff in this dress. Maybe it's because I have to do layers with it - I'm wearing a slip underneath, from M&S, and at this time of year I definitely needed a cardie too, and I suppose that makes it feel a bit ungainly!

I was going to wear this dress today...

...but my day has been spent at home, waiting for a man to come and fit a new gas meter. He was supposed to be here between 8am and 1pm, so I threw on jeans and a t-shirt and cardie, thinking I'd change into something nicer when I left for work. Unfortunately he still hasn't turned up, so I didn't make it to work and didn't wear my dress! It's all glamour here, really it is.

The dress itself is from Primark - I like to think it's one of those Primark items that doesn't immediately scream 'cheap'! They take a bit of finding, those, but it's worth trawling through the really poor quality 80s throwback stuff because every now and then there's a real gem hiding somewhere!

Better photos of yesterday's dress

A couple of better pics of the dress I wore yesterday - it is a butterfly print, and I've also taken a close-up of the lovely buttons on the front!

Rubbish photo number one!

Dress: Jane Norman
Tights: M&S
Shoes: Clarks

This is the fabled Jane Norman sale dress (why every time I try to type Jane Norman do I end up typing Jane Normal?) with good old M&S tights and my new favourite shoes - black button-up shoe-boots from the Clarks sale. Apologies for the quite appalling photo - I have a little camera tripod somewhere, but I can't find it!

Hello!

Last night, on my way home from work, I noticed a lovely little tea dress on the sale rack in Jane Norman. Now, usually, I think Jane Norman is full of quite hideous clothes that I'd never wear, but there, like a little sparkling gem, was a floaty, navy blue, butterfly-print tea dress with lovely little buttons. And I do love buttons! It was half price, so I bought it.

Fast-forward to later that evening, when I decide to embark on a task that I'd had at the back of my mind for a while - rearranging my wardrobes. Before you get the idea that I live in some huge big house with Clueless-style wardrobe arrangements - yes, I have three wardrobes, but they're quite small, built-in affairs! It's a small flat, you know. Anyway, I rearranged everything so that my coats, shoes and smart dresses (for posh events and weddings) live in one wardrobe, my jumpers, tops and shirts live in another, and, lastly, my everyday dresses and favourite cardies live in the third. And that's when I realised something shocking. I have a whole wardrobe full of all of the dresses I've collected over the last few years...and I'm still buying more? Where's the sense in that? Shamefully, I'd completely forgotten that I even had some of the dresses I found.

So, I'm banning myself from buying new dresses, and instead, I'm going to actually wear the ones I already have. There's a fab collection sitting in that wardrobe - all high street stuff, from Primark, Monsoon, Warehouse, UniQlo, Oasis, etc etc - so I really don't see why I need to buy more! I just need to rediscover the things I already have.

Inspired by the wonderful Emily of Some Girls Wander... fame (link on the left) I'll be posting (probably quite bad, taken by myself in the mirror) photos of my outfits.